A Different View
by BlueWater5
Summary: How do others view Snape's adoption of Draco and Harry? Rumors don't necessarily reflect the truth. A side story from aspeninthesunlight's marvelous A Summer Like None Other, for which there are spoilers.


_Disclaimer: I am not JKR. Nor am I aspeninthesunlight. I would, however, love to have their talent. _

A/N: Although aspeninthesunlight's epic-length trilogy series _A Year Like None Other_ is not posted on this site, it can be easily found through a web search. If you have trouble, PM me and I'll send you a link. After a long hiatus, the story is once again being updated. As background to this vignette, Snape was revealed as a spy for Dumbledore when he rescued Harry. He subsequently adopted both Harry and Draco, who was disowned when he ran from his father to avoid becoming a Death Eater. When Harry was adopted he kept his last name; Draco changed his to Snape. During the summer, Draco fell in love with Rhiannon, a muggle; he was convinced she was a witch until he could no longer deny it. Back at Hogwarts, he received a Dear John letter from her, saying she was in a new relationship.

As the echo of a loud pop of apparition faded, the sound of laughter filled the room. Rhiannon's long, golden blond hair swung around her face as she used the momentum of her landing to twirl around the room, her arms outstretched in the joy of the feeling. In contrast, a pale David bent over, putting his hands on his knees while taking shallow breaths, swallowing convulsively. Finally feeling like he could stand up straight without embarrassing himself, he gave a glare, only half-mocking, at his girlfriend.

"It's not fair," he moaned. "I'm the wizard. Why is it that you actually enjoy apparition and portkeys, while I hate them?"

Rhiannon smiled. "Well, I think they're marvelous. Of course, I was also the one who begged to ride roller-coasters all day, the faster and the more loops the better."

David shook his head. "I never liked those either."

Rhiannon walked over the bar and picked a bottle of red wine. She held it up questioningly. When David nodded she picked up a corkscrew and held it up. "Want me to open it or do you want to save time and do your magic?" she asked with a grin.

"Ha ha." David accio'd the bottle from her and then summoned a pair of wine glasses. "What do you want to drink to?" he asked as the bottle tippled over and began to fill the glasses.

Rhiannon cocked her head thoughtfully as she waited for her glass to float over to her. She smiled softly as she raised her wine. "To tonight's performance of _Un ballo in maschera_ of course. Wasn't Ulrica magnificent? Her voice …" she trailed off as she recalled the opera.

David sipped his wine. "You just like that fact that she's a witch," he teased.

"I have to admit that's why I paid her so much attention," Rhiannon acknowledged. "But in turn you have to admit she carried her scenes well."

"Yes, but not as well as you, my dear." David held up his glass in a toast. "When you sing, I forget the rest of the world exists, uncomfortable chairs and all."

"Thank you, my love." She sat down on the couch and leaned back. "Thank heavens the opera house is replacing those seats before the next season opens. If you weren't able to cast one of those cushioning charms, I'd have to bring a seat cushion from home."

David walked over to the window to take in the night lights before casually flicking the shades shut. He turned back to Rhiannon, "I've always been impressed with how comfortable you are around magic. My family still prefers me to avoid using it when I'm with them." He held up his glass with a questioning look. "Refill?" At her nod, he accio'd the bottle of wine.

Rhiannon looked thoughtful. "I think it was because of the way Draco tried to …"

"Draco!" he interrupted in an agitated voice. The bottle stopped in mid air. "Not Draco Malfoy!"

She sat up, startled. "No! Why would you think that?" The bottle resumed its course. "It was Draco Snape. Anyway …" The bottle dropped to the floor and shattered.

"Circe! It's true! I'd heard the rumors …"

"What are you going on about?"

David instinctively looked around to make sure no one had apparated in unnoticed. In a hushed voice, he explained, "You have to understand, Rhiannon, that there are good wizards and dark wizards. The Malfoys are rich, ambitious, and as dark as they come. Snape – Professor Snape – is another dark wizard, and a powerful one. Who knows what ill effect the merging of the two families will have on wizarding Britain?"

Rhiannon shook her head in denial. "I don't believe that. Draco said he didn't get along with his parents at all and that he totally disagreed with them politically."

David sat down on the couch next to her and put his arm protectively around her.

"He may have said that, but even if he shares only half their beliefs he's dangerous. He's still got the family money behind him."

Rhiannon thoughtfully ran her forefinger around the rim of her glass. "Well, it was obvious he was well off, but he told me he'd been disowned and left without a farthing at one point. He said that he was lucky to have received an inheritance from a more distant relative."

After another look around the room, David leaned close to her and softly whispered into her ear. "The _Daily Prophet_ speculated that his uncle's death may not have been natural."

Rhiannon opened her eyes wide. "No! You think that Draco …? Draco would never have done that! He was always kind and considerate."

Shrugging, David leaned back. "I'm just saying what everyone thinks. The timing was certainly suspicious – the man died just after appointing Draco as his heir. And it wouldn't have been Draco's first murder. You know how my sister is a second year at Hogwarts? She wrote me that Draco murdered his girlfriend – threw her off one of the towers and got away with it. After a short suspension, he was back at classes as if nothing happened!" He drummed his fingers on his leg, trying to remember what else she had written. "My sister also wrote that he attacked a professor when he tried to take a forbidden dark magic item from Draco. Again, he somehow got away with it. I tell you, someone's protecting him, and it's probably that git Snape."

"Well, I can't believe Draco's a murderer. He's way too gentle and considerate."

David snorted. "Gentle! Considerate! No way! You don't know his reputation in the wizarding world."

Rhiannon became defensive. "Well, he was always sweet to me. He once gave me the most beautiful bouquet of roses. It gave off the loveliest of aromas I'd ever smelled." She began to frown. "I wasn't happy with him when he didn't show up to see me at the premier of the last opera of the summer. Or when he and his father cancelled out of meeting my parents a couple of days afterwards. But we made up."

"It's a good thing that the meet-the-parents dinner was cancelled," David retorted decisively. "I know it would have put them in danger."

Rhiannon thought back over the summer and smiled at a memory. "You know, Draco pretended to be a stage magician for me, but couldn't pull it off because he didn't know how to disguise his magic. Anyway, I still think you're wrong. He did nothing questionable the entire summer in my uncle's purely muggle town." She paused. "He did occasionally say things that made me wonder where he was from. Harry, on the other hand – you'd never know he was a wizard."

David sat up suddenly. "Harry? As in Harry Potter?" At Rhiannon's nod, he gulped down a mouthful of wine. "I just hope he hasn't been totally corrupted."

"What do you mean?" Rhiannon looked at him sharply.

"According to my sister, Snape held him and Draco in his quarters for months, and no one – not even the Headmaster – saw them. Then Potter emerges, all buddy-buddy with Snape, even saying he was adopted by him. It's well known that Snape spent the time teaching them dark magic."

Rhiannon looked thoughtful. "They told me they were both adopted by Professor Snape. Maybe they were just bonding." She chewed her lower lip as a wisp of doubt surfaced. "Draco said they weren't adopted for their fortunes, but I find it hard to believe that wasn't a consideration."

"Snape was always plotting," David avowed.

Rhiannon drummed her fingers on her leg as she remembered incidents from the summer. "My uncle said he thought he looked dodgy – he complained about his Bohemian clothes, which is an insult for him. I agree he did look forbidding."

"Ask anyone what they think of him! The nicest description you'd get is a greasy bat!"

Rhiannon let out a small chuckle. "My uncle forced him to take a shower before going into the pool. After the shower, his hair looked different – frizzy and curly."

Choking, David put down his glass. "I wish you had a picture of that! I could sell it for a fortune!" Rhiannon gave him a light shove, and David picked up his glass again.

"My uncle almost didn't allow him in the pool at all," Rhiannon continued, "because of the bandage he wore, but Snape told me it was to just cover up a tattoo he'd gotten as a youthful indiscretion."

David had to put down his glass again as he tried to stop a coughing fit. After he recovered his breath, he asked "Merlin! Did you ever see it?"

"No," replied Rhiannon bemusedly.

David leaned close to whisper in her ear. "I'm positive it was a Dark Mark. Only the highest, most viscous Death Eaters have one."

"What's it look like?" asked Rhiannon in curiosity.

"I'm not sure, but the Dark Mark that's seen after a murder is a snake coming out of a skull."

Rhiannon wrinkled her nose. "Why would someone want that tattooed on their arm? You say it's like a gang symbol?"

David nodded vigorously. "For a horribly vicious gang. I've heard you have to commit murder to be initiated."

Rhiannon shuddered. "Well, I can vouch that Draco doesn't have anything like that on his arm or elsewhere. He does have a horrible scar in the middle of his chest -" she put the palm of her hand on David's breastbone "- but that's from a burn, not a tattoo."

David covered her hand with his own, lowered his voice and looked around the empty flat. "There's more. You've heard me talk about Headmaster Dumbledore, right?"

She nodded. "Once or twice," she responded dryly, "at least. The greatest wizard since Merlin, I think you described him."

"Exactly! He defeated Grindelwald, the evilest dark wizard in millennia about the time the last world war ended. Anyway, I think Snape has some sort of hold on him."

"Why do you think that?"

"I don't think I've ever described the Great Hall. The professors all sit at a long head table on a platform overlooking the students. The students sit at four long tables by House. Of course, they set it up so you can't hear them unless they want you to, but you can see them. Well, I happened to be looking up there a couple of times when it was obvious the Headmaster was having a fight with Snape. Which by itself is not a surprise – Snape's a disagreeable git to the students; I can't imagine he's any better with the faculty. But I saw with my own eyes the Headmaster giving in to the grease ball!"

She took a sip of her wine as she thought about he had described. "Did the Headmaster ever appear to disagree with any of the other professors and then give in to them?"

He shook his head vigorously. "Not like with Snape! I mean, of course he would discuss things with them and listen to what they had to say, but I could tell that with Snape it was an actual argument. I tell you, Snape's got something on him!"

"Are you sure you're not just projecting your own feelings?"

"Ask any student! Well, except for any Slytherin. They always support the slime ball. Besides, why would the Headmaster keep Snape on otherwise? He's a Death Eater – everyone knows that. I'm sure parents complain about him being kept around impressionable children, and he's a rotten teacher with a particularly nasty personality."

"Didn't you say you barely passed Potions?"

"Yeah, and I know it was because he was a terrible professor."

"Are you sure it was the professor and not the student? Oh, don't take offense." Rhiannon swirled the wine in her glass as David huffed. "I'm just thinking back the toughest course I ever took. It was a physics class, and I just could not get it. The prof had a great reputation, but he just could not explain things to people who were in introductory classes. The only ones who did well were those who put in twice as much work as anyone else, and for most of us it just wasn't worth it because it was a check in the block."

David shrugged. "I have to admit I may not have always done the readings in advance." Rhiannon raised her glass "Not always?"

David clinked his glass against hers. "Maybe more often than not, but don't tell anyone," he smirked. Sighing, he put his arm around Rhiannon and pulled her close. "Well, I'm just glad you're well away from them. Harry not so much, though people close to him sometimes get hurt or killed. But Snape and Malfoy – Draco Snape, I mean – they're bad news. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

Leaning into him, Rhiannon smiled. "I don't think they're as bad as you say, but it doesn't really matter – Draco was a fun summer fling, but I have you now."

David smiled. "And for ever." Putting his arm around her, he kissed her cheek. As Rhiannon kissed him back, all thoughts of Severus Snape, Draco Snape, and Harry Potter were forgotten.

_Please leave a review, and read aspeninthesunlight's marvelous series._


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